Tourism Keeps Chugging Along in Venezuela

Venezuela´s travel industry and spiking oil prices are the most visible signs that the South American nation´s economy actually rebounded in 2004.

According to the Tourism Ministry, authorities from the sector are expecting to log over 45 million domestic travelers and little more than 639,000 international sunbathers coming to Venezuela in the course of the ongoing year.

At the same time, the number of outbound Venezuelans is reckoned at some 831,000 visitors for 2006 and as many as one million trekkers a year later.

According to official stats provided by the Central Bank of Venezuela, the 17.3 percent economic growth registered in 2004, coupled with a $46.47 price tag on the barrel of crude nearly all year round, made the local economy shoot up dramatically compared with 2002 and 2003.

The political instability that shook up the country in 2003, marked by a 63-day strike that hit the local oil industry hard and a coup attempt against President Hugo Chavez, made the Venezuelan economy skid an alarming 9.2 percent, following an 8.9 percent nosedive the year before.

Margarita Island continues to be one of the most sought-after travel destinations by both local and foreign trippers. The territory features an impressive array of all-inclusive hotels ranging from $53 to $184 a night, and airfares that don´t exceed $174.

In the breathtaking archipelago of Los Roques (north), a tow-day-one-night package sets tourist back somewhere between $220 and $330, including airfare, lodging, tours and three meals.